On My Own
by SharpayRocksTheStage
Summary: Who would have ever guessed that a school project would bring two unlikely people together? TROYPAY


**Okay, so I randomly had an idea for a story so HERE IT IS!!! Don't worry, this is only the first chapter but don't get your hopes up and expect all of the chapters to be as long as this one. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE R&R!!!**

**DISCLAIMER: Nope, still don't own ANYTHING. Just wait and see though! Someday…**

**Chapter 1**

"Ryan Evans! Get your ass out of bed now! We're going to be late!" Sharpay Evans attempted to pull her twin brother out of bed, but it didn't work too well. "Fine! I'm leaving without you! You can take your own car!" And with that, she walked out of his room and back into her own.

The Evans were the wealthiest family in the southwest. Their father was just named partner at Dean Witter, so he was riding high. As for their mother, who would work if they didn't have to? Sharpay and Ryan would never even have to think about working, but they had big dreams for the future anyhow. They had a little sister, Haleigh, who was fourteen, and just like her older sister: looks, aspirations, and all.

Today was the first day of senior year for the twins, and freshman year for Haleigh. In other words, this was the day that would make history for all of them.

Sharpay had grabbed her keys and walked down to her sister's room. She opened the door slowly and saw her standing in front of the mirror with a nervous look on her face. She walked inside and stood behind her. "What's wrong, Hay?" the younger girl turned around to look at her sister.

"I am so nervous, Shar. What if I do something stupid? I would be so embarrassed." They sat down on her pink comforter and Sharpay put her arm around her.

"Everything will be fine, I promise. Do you want me to drive you? We can walk in together if you want?"

"That would be great, Shar. Thanks."

"You're my little sis! I would do anything for you. Now, come on. We're going to be late." They walked down the stairs and out of the front doors. Once they had stepped into Sharpay's hot pink Range Rover, they were off.

The drive there was pretty quiet, so Sharpay turned the radio on and blared her favorite pop song. They both sang at the top of their lungs. When they pulled up in front of the school, Sharpay parked in the front parking spot that she had reserved for her senior year. Both of the Evans girls got out of the car and everyone's eyes turned to look at them. _'Oh my god! Now there's two Sharpays??' _ was what was going through all of their heads.

The front doors to East High swung open and everything stopped as Sharpay and Haleigh walked through, their heels clicking simultaneously. Everyone watched as they passed. When they got to their lockers, a guy came up to them. It was Brad, captain of the football team. "Hey, Sharpay." He gave her a big smile.

"Hi, Brad. How are you?" she said without even looking up.

"Awesome now that your sexy body is here." Sharpay rolled her eyes and turned to him. Haleigh was dumbfounded. What was with all of the guys around here? They looked at her sister like animals. Sharpay continued to talk.

"Brad, besides the fact that you obviously have a boring sex life, is there something I can help you with?" she put her hands over her chest protectively when she noticed Brad staring at it.

"Just standing there is helping me." Sharpay turned around and motioned for Haleigh to follow her. They walked past Brad and down the hallway. Suddenly, Haleigh spotted someone she recognized.

"Troy!" Sharpay glared at her little sister as the brunette boy turned around. Haleigh walked up to him and his friends. She hugged him quickly then looked around and noticed that her sister was standing alone waiting for her, but she didn't understand why. She called her name and Sharpay reluctantly walked over.

"Bolton, Montez, Danforth, McKessie." She said matter-of-factly. Troy just smiled at her and looked back at Haleigh.

"Haleigh, these are my best friends, Gabriella, Chad, and Taylor."

"Hey, nice to meet-"Sharpay cut her off rudely.

"Haleigh, let's go." She tapped her foot. She didn't really want to be rude in front of her sister, but this was really awkward for her.

"But, Shar, I just wanted to talk to Troy and his friends." Sharpay, with disappointment in her eyes, walked up to her sister, hugged her quickly and said:

"Si n'importe qui vous donne n'importe quelle merde, me dites. Accord (_If anyone gives you any shit, tell me. Okay?) _?" Everyone looked at her strangely, except for Troy, who already knew that Sharpay and Haleigh spoke fluent French, and Haleigh, who answered.

"Accord, Shar. Je vous aime." She smiled at her big sister.

"Je vous aime, Hay." And then she switched back to English. "I'll see you at lunch." And with that, she walked off to homeroom. Haleigh turned back to the group and looked at Troy.

"What was all that about?"

"Umm, Haleigh, your sister and I aren't really friends anymore."

"Oh… I'm sorry. I didn't know. I should probably go talk to her." She went to turn around when Gabriella caught her hand.

"Hey, we're all going to grab smoothies after school, do you want to come? You could ask Sharpay to come too if you want."

"Sure, I can come. I'll ask Shar. Bye you guys." She walked off to homeroom to find her sister. She had to talk to her.

She walked into the drama room, and spotted Sharpay in the back of the room talking to a woman. She walked back and tapped her sister on the shoulder. She turned around and smiled when she saw her. "Haleigh, this is Ms. Darbus. Ms. Darbus, this is my sister Haleigh." Ms. Darbus got a hopeful look in her eye. _Maybe the Evans reign won't end after all._ She thought.

"Hello, Haleigh. Nice to meet you. Will you be joining our drama program?"

"Of course. I've seen how much fun Shar has had and I _c_an't wait."

"I hope that you know that you have very large shoes to fill once your sister leaves this school." She smiled at them both.

"I know." Haleigh looked up at her sister in adoration. "Shar, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." They walked to the front of the class room and sat on two desks. "What's up, sis?"

"I just wanted to say I was sorry." She looked down at her hands in her lap.

"For what?" Sharpay put her arm around her.

"For staying with Troy and his friends and leaving you alone. I didn't know that you two weren't friends anymore." Sharpay looked at her little sister and smiled. She stood her up and pulled her into a hug.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything, Hay. Troy and I stopped hanging out a long time ago and I just never felt like talking about it. Sometimes, I wish that we would've stayed friends. But, now he's got perfect Gabriella to hold on to."

"Wait. They're going out? He said that they were just friends." She pulled away and looked at her sister. "Why would he lie?"

"Because I was there. Things are still a little awkward between us."

"Why?" Sharpay sighed.

"The last time that Troy and I were together, things got a little out of hand. Things led to other things."

"Shar did ya'll…" She raised her eyebrows.

"Umm… I don't really feel comfortable telling you about this."

"Come on, Shar. I'm fourteen, not four. We've already had that talk. Now tell me, did you?" All of a sudden they heard a voice from the back of the room.

"Sharpay, if you're going to talk about your sex life, I would much rather you speak in lower voices." Ms. Darbus said just as Troy, Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, and Ryan walked in. Sharpay blushed and held her head in her hands. Ryan walked in and covered his ears.

"La la la!" He said loudly. "I'm going to pretend that I didn't just hear that my sister has a sex life." Sharpay got confident again and shouted from her seat.

"Just because none of you do, that's not my problem." She smiled at them and went back to talking with Haleigh.

"So, you did, and you have since then with others." Haleigh raised her eyebrows suggestively. Sharpay glared at her when everyone walked over to them, automatically interested in their oh-so-suggestive conversation.

"Can we talk about this later? Class is about to start." Just as she said that, Ms. Darbus walked to the front of the room and motioned for them to take her seat.

"Good morning, class. This year we'll be starting off with a project." Everyone groaned and Ms. Darbus continued talking. "Ten seniors will be paired up and given a monologue and a non-Broadway song to present to the rest of the class next Monday. The rest of you will join your classmates in the ensemble"

Everyone looked around the room subconsciously. When Ms. Darbus saw this, she spoke again. "You will not be choosing your own partners though; I will be choosing them for you." Everyone groaned again.

"I will read the pairs aloud right now and you will come and get your monologue and sheet music: Taylor and Chad, Ryan and Kelsi, Gabriella and Jamie, Martha and Zeke, Troy and Sharpay. Now, please come up and-"

"What?!" Sharpay didn't mean to yell so loudly.

"Is there a problem, Sharpay?" Ms. Darbus said with a harsh tone in her voice and a devious smile on her face.

"No, ma'am. Everything's fine." She put her head on her desk to avoid getting in trouble on the first day of school.

"Great, now you can come up and get your materials." Since Sharpay was right in front of Ms. Darbus, she just laid the things on her desk.

The rest of class was spent with Sharpay trying to figure out a way to survive a week with Troy Bolton. When the bell rang, she walked to the back of the classroom where Troy was talking to Gabriella. "Bolton." He turned to look at her.

"Yes _Evans_?" he laughed to himself at his silent joke.

"My house, today, five o' clock. Be there." And with that, she walked out of the classroom and on with the rest of her morning.

When lunch came, Haleigh put her things in her locker and went to find her brother and sister. When she walked into the lunch room, her mouth fell open at the size. Then, she spotted Sharpay and Ryan at the table on the balcony. She walked up there, getting some odd stares from some people. She heard bits and pieces of what they were saying: _the new ice queen, wonder if she's just as bad, looks just like her hottie sister. _

Once she had gotten all the way up to the balcony, she sat down next to her big sister, who had her head down on the table. "Hey, Shar. What's wrong?" She asked and her sister raised her head. It looked like she had been crying. Ryan spoke up.

"I can't get her to talk. She won't tell me." Haleigh thought for a sec and thought on her feet.

"Shar, does this have to do with what we talked about this morning?" She saw her sister nod, sort of, and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm just afraid that I'm going to fall for him again. And that cannot happen!" She wiped the mascara off of her cheeks and went to stand against the glass overlooking the rest of the lunch room. Haleigh went to stand next to her.

"Sharpay Evans! You're acting like you have no say in what goes on in your life. Just because you have to spend time with him, does not mean that you have to fall in love with him. Just remember that he has a girlfriend."

"That didn't stop him last time." She looked up at Haleigh and smiled at the shocked expression she had on her face. "I can't believe that I'm telling my fourteen year old sister about my sex-life. This is so weird."

"Shar, you can tell me anything. You should know that by now." She smiled at her still choked up sister. "Oh, Troy and his friends asked me to go get smoothies with them after school. They asked you to come along too."

"You go. I'm just going to go home."

"Are you sure? I can just come home with you if you want."

"Go, I promise I'll be fine." She pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the head. "What kind of a sister would I be if I kept you from making friends?"

"A normal one?"

"Well, we already know that I am not normal. I have to go talk to Ms. Darbus about the autumn musicale. Love ya sis!" She grabbed her purse and walked down the stairs. Haleigh watched as all of the guys watched as she passed them, their girlfriends slapping them in the process. Haleigh laughed. All of the guys at this school acted like her sister was some sort of sex goddess.

"What were you two talking about?" Ryan said from behind her.

"Nothing, it's just girl stuff. Plus, if I told you, you'd regret asking."

"Whatever you say."

The rest of the day went by fast. Nothing major happened. After school, Haleigh went with the gang to Smoothie King to hang out. After declining yet another offer from Troy, Sharpay headed home. When she got there, she told Maria, one of their housekeepers, to send Troy to the music room when he got there. She went and took a shower and put her robe on while walking down to their music room for a half hour of free time before she had to get ready.

When she sat down at the grand piano, and her fingers brushed across the smooth black and white keys, everything in the real world stopped. She stood up and walked over to a huge cabinet and opened the sliding glass door to reveal thousands of pages of sheet music. She went to one section that had her name labeled on it and grabbed the top stack of music. When back at the piano, she began to practice. The clock caught her eye. 4:30. She could play one more time. Notes started to fill the air.

_And now I'm all alone again, _

_No where to go, no one to turn to_

_Without a home, without a friend_

_Without a face to say hello to_

_And now the night is near_

_Now I can make believe he's here_

_Sometimes I walk alone at night_

_When everybody else is sleeping_

_I think of him and then I'm happy_

_With the company I'm keeping_

_The city goes to bed_

_But I can live inside my head_

_On my own, pretending he's beside me_

_All alone, I walk with him 'til morning_

_Without him, I feel his arms around me_

_And when I lose my way_

_I close my eyes and he has found me_

All of a sudden, she heard something behind her. She spun around to find Troy Bolton standing in the doorway. He smiled at her and she realized that she was naked under her robe and that she had no make-up on. "Bolton, you're early."

"I know. Sorry. We got done at Smoothie King early so I figured that I should go ahead and bring Haleigh home since I was coming over anyway." There was an awkward silence between them so Troy continued. "I never knew you could play the piano. That was really good."

"Thanks. I taught myself to play a couple of years ago. Um… I should probably go put some real clothes on. I'll be right back." She left and came back about five minutes later with khaki shorts and a white v-neck t-shirt on. It looked nice against her tan. "What do you want to work on first?" She started to pull some papers out of a manila folder, but Troy stopped her.

"Sharpay? Will you sing the rest of that song?"

"I don't know Troy. That song's from my personal collection. It's supposed to be private." She sat down on the piano bench next to Troy and looked down at her hands. When she looked up at Troy, she just couldn't resist. She had never been able to say no to those beautiful blue eyes. She turned around on the bench so that she was facing the piano. Troy scooted over so that she would have more room. The melody began to poor out softly again.

_In the rain, the pavement shines like silver_

_And the lights are misty in the river_

_In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight_

_And all I see is him and me _

_Forever and forever_

_And I know, it's only in my mind_

_That I'm talking to myself and not to him_

_And although I know that he is blind_

_Still I say, there's a way for us_

_I love him, but when the night is over_

_He is gone; the river's just a river_

_Without him, the world around me changes_

_The trees are bare_

_And everywhere the streets are full of strangers_

_I love him, but everyday I'm learning_

_All my life, I've only been pretending_

_Without me, this world will go on turning_

_This world is full of happiness_

_That I have never known_

_I love him, I love him_

_I love him, but only on my own_

As Sharpay played the last note, she felt a smile creep onto her lips. "You wrote that?" she heard from her right.

"Yeah, I did. I just finished it earlier. Do you like it?"

"Shar, it was amazing. I can't believe that you've never played piano for a talent show or anything." Troy stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. Sharpay tensed up when he did this and stood up, slipping out of his grasp.

"It's just not me. It's not what people expect from me." Sharpay turned to look at Troy for the first time since she had finished singing.

"Is that necessarily a bad thing?"

"I've never been one for change. You should know that better than anyone." Trying to avoid their past, she quickly changed the subject. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry."

Sharpay went to walk out of the room, but Troy caught her hand and brought her back to him, catching her lips in the process. She stood there, stunned for a minute, but then she forgot about the rest of the world. She wrapped her arms around his neck while he placed his hands on her waist. They didn't pull apart until they heard a knock at the door and someone clears their throat. Sharpay quickly turned around to find her mom standing there.

"Troy; what a pleasant and awkward surprise." Evangeline Evans walked further into the room.

"Hi Mrs. Evans. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I was just coming to tell Sharpay that her father won't be home for dinner, so I'm going out with the girls. Oh, and Troy? You might want to wipe that lip gloss off of your mouth before you go home; it shimmers in the light. Anyway, I have to go. Bye you guys. Don't have too much fun." She winked at her daughter and Sharpay turned deep red. Once her mother had left the room, Sharpay sat down on the couch and put her head in her hands. When Troy put his arm around her, she stood up in front of him.

"Troy, we can't do this. You have a freakin' girlfriend god-dammit!" Troy swore he saw a tear slide down her cheek. He stood up and tried to pull her into a hug. "Don't freaking touch me, Troy! I can't do this right now. Maybe you should just leave."

"Sharpay, I'm sorry." Troy thought for a moment but then continued. "Actually, no, I'm not sorry I kissed you. I liked it, and I know that you did too. Admit it Sharpay. You liked it."

"I'm not going to lie to you Troy. Yes, it was nice to take a trip down memory lane, but that doesn't change the fact that you have a girlfriend. Do I have to spell it out for you? We cannot be together."

"Gabriella does not own me. I haven't even officially asked her to be my girlfriend yet. We just go on dates and stuff. We haven't even made out. Sharpay, I miss what we used to have." Troy took a step toward Sharpay.

"Or do you miss what we had for one night? Troy, that night was a mistake and was not supposed to happen." Sharpay took a step toward Troy.

"Why can't you give us another chance?" Troy put his arms around her waist and this time she didn't pull away, she just let tears fall down her cheeks. She couldn't hold them in anymore.

"Because you broke my heart! After that night, I thought that we were going to be able to make things work, but you left! You didn't even say goodbye! I gave you my heart and you just broke it." She laid her head on his chest and he let her just cry. After about a minute, he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"I would never dream of hurting you again. Please, just give me another chance." Sharpay looked up at him, and, without a word, pulled him in for a deep kiss. Troy put his hands on her face and walked her backwards until she fell back onto the couch. He leaned down over her and caught her lips again. Just then, perhaps more inconvenient than last time, they heard someone clear their throat. They looked up and Haleigh was standing in the doorway with a raised eyebrow. Troy sat up off of Sharpay and she got up to talk to her sister.

"Haleigh, what are you doing here?" Troy could still hear them but he couldn't see Sharpay's face, which was in a hard glare.

"I was coming to see how the project was coming but it's obvious that you haven't gotten much work done." She smirked at her big sister and her sort of new friend. "Don't worry. I didn't see _anything._"

"Haleigh, is this really the time for this?"

"Shar, chill. I just have to lay down the law with Mr. Bolton here. Troy I expect you to take good care of my big sister and have her home by midnight every night. And call if she's going to be home later or not at all." She winked at them and Sharpay blushed. Troy laughed and smiled at the younger girl.

"Yes, ma'am! I think I can do that."

"Good! Now, it's time for ya'll to take a crack at this song." She walked over to the piano where the packet was still sitting unopened. She pulled the two sets of music out and handed one to each of them.

"Aww… I love this song!" Sharpay said with a sparkle in her eye. "It's so cute! What do you think Troy?"

"I don't think I've ever heard it. I don't normally really listen to country music. But, the words sound good." Sharpay jokingly shook her head to Troy and turned to Haleigh.

"Hay, will you play once so that Troy can hear vocals and piano separately?" She handed her the sheet music and stood in front of the piano so that the piano and her voice didn't mix. After singing once with the piano and once without the piano, Troy started to join in. the hours went by fast and before they knew it, it was almost eight o'clock. "Do you two want something to eat? I can make something."

"I should probably get home. My mom's probably making dinner."

"Why don't you call them and see if they want to come over? I haven't seen them in years, and neither has Hay." The younger sister shook her head.

"Alright." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called his mom. "Hey mom."

"Hey Troy. Are you still working on your project?" Lisa Bolton asker her son.

"We just stopped. Sharpay was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner."

"Oh, Sharpay is your partner? Sure, we'd love to come over for dinner." At the mention of Sharpay's name, Jack Bolton's head popped right up. He eyed his wife with a questioning look on his face.

"Great. You still know where it is right?" Troy gave Sharpay the thumbs up and she went into the kitchen to get dinner ready.

"Yeah, we'll be over in like ten minutes. Bye Troy." She hung up the phone and looked at her husband. "Interesting. Troy was paired with Sharpay for a drama project. And it sounds like they're getting along… Anyway, we're going over there for dinner." They changed really fast and then drove over to the Evans house.

Meanwhile…

"Hey cutie." Sharpay turned around to see Troy standing in the doorway. She put down the spoon she was stirring the spaghetti with and turned towards him.

"Hey, can we talk?" Troy walked towards her and put his arms around her waist.

"Of course. What's on your mind?"

"Umm… I don't really know how to put this. Are you and I, like, a couple now?" She looked up at him with her dark brown eyes and he immediately smiled.

"I would be honored to be Sharpay Evans' official boyfriend." He leaned down and kissed her softly. Suddenly, the doorbell sounded and they heard voices in the entry. They broke apart just in time for Lucy and Jack Bolton to walk into the kitchen. Sharpay automatically got a huge smile on her face.

"Sharpay Evans. My, oh my, have you grown up!" Lucy walked up to Sharpay and hugged her tightly.

"Lucy, it's been so long! I've missed you so much."

"We've missed you too, sweetie." Then, Sharpay noticed a taller version of Troy making his way towards her.

"So, you're that perky little blonde I see walking through the halls like she owns the place. I never would have recognized you." He smiled at her and winked quickly before letting the girls continue to talk.

"Sharpay, do you need any help with anything?" Lucy walked over next to where Sharpay had continued to boil the noodles and make the sauce for her spaghetti masterpiece.

"Not with the food, but," she turned toward her younger sister, "will you go and grab my iPod and hook it up to the system Hay?"

"Sure. What do you want it on?" Haleigh said as she slowly made her way to the door.

"Will you make me a playlist really fast? Put Michael Buble, Colbie Caillait, and Norah Jones on it. Thanks, sis!" As Haleigh Evans walked up the stairs to her sister's bedroom, the other four began talking again.

After Troy had gotten everyone something to drink and the spaghetti finished cooking, they all sat down at the dinner table and started chatting lightly. "So, Sharpay, what have you been up to all these years?"

Sharpay turned toward Lisa and spoke: "I've just been very busy with theatre and stuff - nothing too extravagant."

"Oh, Sharpay, I didn't know that you were a performer!" Troy cut in before Sharpay could respond.

"Oh my god, Mom, she's like the best ever!" He turned to the blonde, "You should play something for my parents after dinner. I bet that they would really like that." Sharpay looked at Lisa and Jack and they both had interested faces plastered on. She smiled softly.

"Well, why not! We can give it a go. I just need to know what I'm singing."

"I've only heard the two songs so far. What else do you have hiding in that cabinet of yours?"

"I'm sure I can figure out something…" She said with a sigh. Whatever she played had to be amazing; this was her possible future in-laws they were talking about.

Dinner went by pretty quick and then Sharpay, Troy, Haleigh, Lisa, and Jack all gathered in the music room. Sharpay had already picked out her piece that she was going to play. "This song is called BLACK ROSES RED by ALANA GRACE. Hay is going to sing backup for me." Her eyes flew to the book of notes and rhythms and the piano started to hum softly:

_Can I ask you a question please_

_Promise you won't laugh at me_

_Honestly, I'm standing here_

_Afraid I'll be betrayed_

_As twisted as it seems_

_I only feel love when it's in my dreams_

_So let in the morning light_

_And let the darkness fade away_

_Can you turn my black roses red_

_Can you turn my black roses red_

_Drowning in my loneliness_

_How long must I hold my breathe_

_So much emptiness inside_

_I could fill the deepest sea_

_I reach to the sky as the moon looks on_

_My one last year has come and gone_

_Dying to let your love rain down on me_

_Can you turn my black roses red_

_Can you turn my black roses red_

_Can you turn my black roses red_

'_Cause I'm feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Can you turn my black roses red_

_Can you turn my black roses red_

_Can you turn my black roses red_

'_Cause I'm feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

'_Cause I'm feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_Feeling like living on love_

_(continuous fade out)_

As the last note faded out everyone erupted in applause. "Sharpay, that was fabulous!" Lisa said with excitement. "I can't believe that you taught yourself to play. That is truly amazing." Sharpay blushed from all of the attention she was getting.

Jack Bolton suddenly looked at his watch. "Oh, wow. It's already ten o'clock! We should probably be getting home. Tomorrow is a school day after all."

Sharpay saw Mr. and Mrs. Bolton to the door, but the couldn't leave unless Troy did as well because his car was blocking theirs in. Troy stopped in the door frame to the Evans' household and smiled at Sharpay. "What is it Troy?" she giggled softly and he responded:

"Oh, nothing. I'm just so happy that we're together again."

"Are you going to tell your parents about us?" she looked genuinely into his eyes.

"Of course I am! As soon as we get back to the house."

"How about now?" she smirked deviously and looked to where the Bolton's were watching the two teens. Troy looked confused.

"What?"

Making sure that Lisa and Jack still had their eyes on them, Sharpay placed her hand behind Troy's neck and pulled his head down to capture his lips in a soft kiss. She pulled back and smiled up at him. "Goodnight Troy." Before walking down to get in his car, Troy managed to whisper:

"Goodnight Sharpay." Sending chills down her spine.


End file.
